Apple lawsuit merry-go-round takes another spin

Apple’s web of suits and countersuits is starting to look like the plot of a particularly complicated Bollywood blockbuster. Its action against Samsung in Germany is looking dicey, whilst HTC is now suing, possibly as payback for being sued by Apple earlier this year, alleging that Apple’s products have infringed three of its patents.

Apple’s legal team must be feeling concerned as the Dsseldorf court which banned the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 from sale in Europe temporarily reversed its decision for all European markets except Germany. Apple had alleged that the device slavishly imitated the iPad.

[caption id=“attachment_62958” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“HTC isn’t pulling its punches. It has asked not just for damages, but for enhanced damages which could triple the sum payable by Apple if found guilty.Reuters.”]  [/caption]

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There are also accusations that Apple doctored images comparing the iPad with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to make them look more similar than they actually are. We’ll have to wait until the court begins hearing the case on August 25 before it’s clear whether this has any real bearing on the outcome, but Florian Mueller, an intellectual property expert who has been following the case closely says believes it might:

“Even if the picture they presented was merely obsolete as opposed to forged, this could raise the prospects of a reversal of fortunes at the August 25 hearing in the Dsseldorf district court.”

But Samsung isn’t entirely innocent either: It appears to have been caught fibbing about whether it knew of the pending court case in Germany. Having originally said that “The request for injunction was filed with no notice to Samsung, and the order was issued without any hearing or presentation of evidence from Samsung”, it turns out that it did know, because it filed what’s called a “ Schutzschrift”, or a “protective pleading”, a week before Apple filed its injunction.

Samsung didn’t get the chance to argue its point in court ahead of the temporary injunction because in Germany, “infringement of a valid intellectual property right entitles a right holder to an injunction.” This is normal operating procedure in Germany so says nothing about the strength of Apple’s case or Samsung’s defence.

But whilst Samsung may have misled the press, Apple’s alleged manipulation of the evidence it submitted could have much more serious ramifications. If Apple loses its case, then it becomes liable for Samsung’s damages, including lost sales.

HTC goes toe-to-toe with Apple

Apple’s lawyers have plenty to keep them busy as HTC has filed a suit against them in the USA, accusing them of infringing three patents, which between them are broad enough to cover almost Apple’s entire product range:

The list of said products is extensive, to say the least: it lists among other things “personal computers, mobile communications devices, wireless printers, streaming wireless capable television, wireless network equipment [and] portable digital music and video players.”

HTC isn’t pulling its punches. It has asked not just for damages, but for enhanced damages which could triple the sum payable by Apple if found guilty. It has also asked for an injunction forcing Apple to cease “making, selling or importing” any of the “accused products” in the US.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

The company filed a similar complaint with the International Trade Commission, which has the power to ban the import of products found to have infringed on a company’s patents. HTC previously had filed a complaint against Apple at the ITC.

The new actions come after HTC received a mixed ruling in July as part of a separate case before the ITC. In that case, Apple’s computers were found to have violated two patents owned by a company HTC was acquiring. But Apple’s mobile devices did not violate the patents, the court said.

I can’t help thinking that this patent and design rights wrangling has got completely out of hand. The current intellectual property system is broken and the only people who benefit from it are the lawyers.